A Little Bead
by Perhapsormaybe
Summary: The smallest things can inspire us. A bead started this particular drabble collection, and who knows what will inspire the rest? Random Drabbles. No longer a one shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **Saw _The Princess and the Frog_ today, lines are as close as I can remember. HAD TO WRITE IT! (Sorry to anyone who's reading this who's from another fandom I typically write for! I'll get back to work eventually!) Last part is something written right before the frog version of the wedding.

Where the beads had come from was anyone's guess. The necklaces they'd come from were strewn across the ship, broken, and probably abandoned for that very reason. Had it not been for a certain frog, their existence would have been inconsequential. But this is not the way things go when one finds themselves in a fairy tale.

And so, hours later, after the beads had served their usefulness to humans lucky enough to still hold their shapes, Naveen, Tiana, Louis and Ray would come across them. Louis was far too interested in his opportunity to play with the band to even notice them, and his excitement proved contagious. It was Naveen who decided to stay behind, the beads causing things to fall further into place.

It had been slowly dawning on him that he was enjoying being around Tiana. Sure, she could be a kill joy, a stick in the mud....but she was willing to help him to learn how to do things for himself. She didn't give into his whims as other girls did. The mere fact she didn't swoon over him had at first irritated him, then held a distinct fascination, and now made him realize it was because she was not the type to only look at the shell of the person. She saw him for who he was. Knowing that, she'd still helped him. Even before he'd promised to marry Charlotte and give Tiana the money for her restaurant, she'd still saved him.

But it was Madam Odie who'd made it sink in. He'd been told to dig a little deeper, after all....Prince Naveen was many things...vain. Spoiled. Selfish. And of course, handsome, but he was no fool. Unlike Tiana, he'd heard Madam Odie's message loud and clear - there was something missing from his life, and it wasn't money.

He suspected that the old witch had purposely made him see Tiana's reflection as she explained, but he'd never know for certain.

Staring at the beads and a bit of wire gave him an idea. He'd never felt this way before, about anyone. He was experienced with women, certainly, but the minute a girl had brought up that hideous 'l' word, he had run away from them. And yet, the more he thought about love and Tiana, the more he began to associate the two. He'd felt a twinge when they'd danced together, and he'd tried to ignore it. But he just couldn't keep lying to himself.

He took the bead and wire and jerry-rigged a ring. He admired his handiwork, inspecting it to see if it looked appropriate. He smiled to himself, considering just how perfectly it had turned out.

He took a gulp as he stared at the ring, wondering momentarily if this feeling could have been some strange side effect of the Shadow Man's spell. Naveen shook his head. No. No, he wanted her. And he was going to propose, tonight.

* * *

After the misunderstanding with Ray thinking Naveen was proposing to Evangeline, not only was the firefly relieved that Naveen's intentions lay elsewhere, he was most certainly glad to help. It was Ray who located the wine and gave Naveen a hand in fixing the table up.

"You listen here, you treat her good, right?" Ray asked, elbowing Naveen in the ribs.

"Of course I shall. But uh, now, if you don't mind, my friend?"

Ray chuckled. "Y'all needin' some alone time? Don't bother ole Ray none. You jus' tell me how it goes!" The firefly flew away, presumably to find Louis, as Naveen headed to get Tiana.

"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!" she exclaimed, looking around. She made her way to the table, and Naveen pulled her chair back for her.

Tiana received everything well, but for the first time in his life, Naveen was nervous. Tiana was the first girl to ignore his charms upon their first meeting, who was to say that anything had changed? He repeated in his head over and over to stop worrying, stop acting like such an idiot. _You are a prince, you are handsome, you are talented. She will most certainly want you. Who would not?_

Each time he tried to reach for the walnut shell that held the ring, he'd be thwarted - either by himself or by Tiana. Finally, she interrupted him to point to the building she was hoping to buy.

"And people will come from miles around for our food!"

"_Our_ food?" Naveen blinked, his hand desperately groping for the walnut shell. This was it! This was what he'd been waiting for. She wanted him. She'd say yes.

"My daddy's and mine," Tiana elaborated. Naveen let out an inaudible "oh", feeling rejected. She continued to talk about her dream.

A feeling arose in Naveen. He suddenly didn't care what he had to do...he loved Tiana. He wanted to be with Tiana. But all she wanted was that restaurant. And yet he couldn't even hold a grudge against it. All he wanted was her happiness. And so, he resigned himself to his fate. He promised her then, he was going to marry her friend and make sure she had the money for her dream.

Tiana thanked him, somehow missing just how sad the other frog looked. The idea of marriage itself no longer terrified him, but marrying someone other than Tiana? Naveen felt a pain in his chest he hadn't known before. But she just looked so...happy. He leapt off by himself, unaware that some sneaky shadows were laying in wait for him.

* * *

The kiss hadn't worked. Ray had passed on from this world, though that pain was dulled from the knowledge he'd gone on to be with Evangeline, his own true love. But Naveen and Tiana were still happy, even though things hadn't turned out as they wished.

"Well?" Naveen asked one day, waiting for a response.

Bewildered, Tiana stood up on her long frog legs and crossed her 'arms'. "Well what? You never said anything for me to give you an answer to!"

Prince Naveen pretended to be hurt. "My love, you wound me. Did we not talk about marrying? Unless you are no longer interested…"

"You're not getting out of it _that _easily," Tiana laughed. "But you're not doing it right."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Tiana planted her hands firmly on her hips. "You never actually proposed. So how'm I supposed to know if you're serious about it? You have dated 'thousands of women' after all. I could just be another number for you."

"Of course not! While I, Prince Naveen, have loved many women….did I say 'loved'?" Naveen laughed nervously at Tiana's glare. "I wished to say 'dated'. But I have only loved one."

"Prove it," Tiana said with a smile, poking Naveen on his chest.

"If I did not, would I have been keeping _this _this whole time?" 'This' referred to the ring he'd made her on the boat. He had been keeping the shell nearby at all times, waiting for the opportune moment. He opened the walnut and got down on one knee. "And will you?"

"Will I what?"

Naveen laughed. "Oh, very well, I will do it properly. Will you, my most beautiful Tiana, marry me? If it helps your answer, I _am _a prince. Also, very charming and handsome."

"Yeah, and covered in warts."

"Does this mean no?"

Tiana pulled him into her, hugging him tightly. "Of course I'll marry you. I love you, Naveen."

"And I love you."

**Author's Final Word: **There is more to this story, of course, but you already know how it ends. A prince marries a waitress, and she becomes a princess. Their wedding kiss reverses the horrible enchantment upon both of them. But a starting factor in _this _part of our tale was a simple, abandoned bead.


	2. Daddy's Little Girl

**Author's Note: **Hi, there! So. I know I'm working on a Disney-song inspired drabble collection, but sometimes I get other ideas too. And as should be pretty clear to anyone who's been following me, I like to work on several projects at once. ....it's really not very smart of me, but I can't seem to help it. So instead of just leaving "A Little Bead" by itself, drabble ideas and oneshot ideas that don't otherwise fit into Music In Our Soul will be put here. This particular drabble was posted a few days ago on livejournal.

"Absolutely not. I forbid it." Naveen crossed his arms and tried his best to look intimidating. But his oldest child, Aurelia, had inherited her mother's backbone, and she was not about to back down.

"You can't forbid it, daddy," she crossed her arms and glared. "I'm going to go out with whoever I want to and you can't stop me. I'll just sneak out if you even think about grounding me."

"You will do no such thing, young lady! I am your father and you are to listen to me. That boy is nothing but trouble. Was he not dating your best friend a week ago?"

"Things didn't work out," Aurelia mumbled.

"And the weeks before this, he was dating your other friends, no? Are you not the only one who has not dated him?"

"He really wants to be with me, daddy," the teenager insisted, softening. She knew her father had a point, but she continued to press. Young love is often stubborn. "He knows what he did is wrong and I think he loves me."

"It's only a date," Tiana had been quietly watching the fight from the other room, but chose now to interrupt. "Naveen, why don't we let her go?"

"Because, this boy she likes is a play boy! He will break her heart, you know how those types are."

"Yes, I do," Tiana admitted. "Because I _married_ one, remember?"

"This is exactly why I do not want her to go!" Naveen snapped. "I know how I was at that age, and if that boy does the kinds of things I did….No, I will not allow this to happen to my daughter."

"Naveen," Tiana warned, "This is Aurelia's choice. Not ours. She's smart enough to make her own decisions. Love does change people for the better, you know."

"I…" Naveen sighed. "As always, my wife, you are right. I still do not like this, but Aurelia, you may go on your date."

"Thank you, daddy!" Aurelia hugged her father before running to her mother and thanking her as well. She practically ran out of the house to meet up with the boy in question.

"I feel as though I will regret this," Naveen sunk into his chair and rubbed his temples. "Thank goodness we only have one daughter and James is too young to date…"

"He won't always be," Tiana pointed out, sitting on the arm of his chair and wrapping her arms around him. "But you really don't have to worry about Aurelia. She's a smart girl."

"Yes, but charming young men like that, they can get the better of even the smartest women…"

"It wasn't your charm that won me over," Tiana pointed out. "In fact, I couldn't stand you at first."

"You wound me," Naveen pretended to be hurt. He pulled Tiana onto his lap. "As much of a headache as they are, I love our children and want to protect them."

"I know you do," Tiana snuggled in closer. "But sometimes you have to let them learn things on their own. She does take after me quite a bit, and when I've seen her with that boy…he looks at her the way you look at me."

Naveen groaned. "That is precisely what I am worried about."


End file.
